Plumber Daniel Hickling caused a gas explosion which blew a house off its foundations and injured the owner and his wife

An 'incompetent' plumber caused a gas explosion which blew a house off its foundations and injured the wealthy owner and his wife after botching a simple job, a court was told.

Daniel Hickling, 32, caused the blast described as like a 'jet aircraft crashing' after allegedly leaving a hole in piping which caused gas to leak into the luxury home of Martyn and Teresa Moody.

Hickling cut off and capped the protruding pipe and then buried it under the floor during the conversion of a former kitchen into a dining room, Lincoln Crown Court heard.

But he punctured the pipe and failed to carry out a straightforward test which would have located the leak, it was claimed.

Hours
later the Moodys smelt gas and began searching their purpose built
mansion located in the pretty hamlet of Nettleton in the Lincolnshire
Wolds.

While checking out
one of the rooms Mr Moody flicked on a cigarette lighter and the flame
ignited a massive explosion which rocked the house.

The
blast had such force that the entire building moved an inch. The
windows and front door were blown out and the ground floor of the home
was severely damaged. Debris was thrown 100 yards away.

Mr
Moody, 63, who had recently sold his own construction and electrical
business, spent two weeks in hospital after he suffered serious burns to
his hands, arms and scalp and had to undergo skin grafts. He has been
left scarred for life.

His wife Teresa had burns to her legs and feet. She was released after two days in hospital.

The large detached home, which the couple had built for themselves back in 1993, was so badly damaged that it had to be virtually completely rebuilt and it was a year before the couple were able to move back in.

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The rural property was supplied by an LPG tank in the back garden as it was not connected to the mains gas supply.

The Moodys were left £100,000 out of pocket after they were subsequently found to be underinsured on their contents insurance and had to cover some of the loss themselves.

The court was told that Hickling, who ran his own heating and plumbing business, was not qualified to carry out gas work.

Teresa Moody (left) suffered burns to her legs and feet. She was released after two days in hospital. Martyn Moody (right) suffered serious burns to his hands, arms and scalp and had to undergo skin grafts

James Puzey, prosecuting for the Health and Safety Executive, said: 'He was incompetent to carry out this work and it was carried out incompetently. That led directly to an explosion which almost destroyed the property and caused serious injury to the householders.'

Mr Puzey told the court Hickling did not reveal he was not a Gas Safe registered engineer when he agreed to carry out the work.

'Whilst they were watching television after dinner Mr and Mrs Moody smelt gas. They went out into the hall and then into the living room. Mr Moody relit the pilot light on the gas fire in the living room and then went into the dining room.

Rebuilt: The large detached home, which the couple had built for themselves back in 1993, was so badly damaged that it had to be virtually completely rebuilt and it was a year before the couple were able to move back in

'He tried to switch the lights on but unfortunately the lights in that room had been disconnected. Out of pure instinct he switched on his lighter and within moments there was an explosion.

'Mr Moody was disorientated. He ran outside then realised his wife wasn't with him. He then ran back inside and helped her out.

'He switched off the gas supply at the LPG tank and moved his two cars away from the property. Then, despite the injuries he suffered, he attempted to fight the fire with a garden hose before the fire brigade arrived and took over.

Underinsured: The entrance to the home of Martyn and Teresa Moody

'Both he and his wife suffered burns and were taken to hospital and the house was severely damaged. The windows in the front of the house had been blown out. The explosion caused the brickwork to be displaced.'

A gas engineer called in by the HSE to examine the property found a 'significant leak' in pipe work which Hickling had buried under the floor. He said Hickling should have carried out a 'gas tightness test' before finishing the job which would have revealed the leak.

Mr Moody, who had run his own construction business for 35 years specialising in hazardous locations such as oil refineries and gas plants, told the court: 'The plan was to conceal the pipe and turn the room into a dining room. We wanted rid of the pipe so we could get the decorators in and lay a new floor.'

He said it was obvious that the pipe carried gas and he could not understand how Hickling thought they did not.

'I'm pretty sure I did tell him they were gas pipes.'

Mr Moody said that it was only after he and his wife finished their meal that they smelt gas.

'We could smell gas in some places but not in others. I couldn't smell gas in the old kitchen where Daniel had worked but when I flicked the lighter on in there it blew up.'

Hickling, 32, of Howsham, Lincolnshire, has pleaded guilty to three charges relating to the incident in July 2011 but disputes the prosecution case that he knew he was working on gas pipes.

Hickling claimed he never put himself forward as a qualified gas engineer and did not know he was working on a gas pipe.

He admits carrying out work to an inappropriate standard, carrying out work while not registered with the Gas Safety Register and carrying out gas fitting work he was not competent of doing so in breach of the 1998 Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulation.

After hearing two days of evidence Recorder Helen Malcolm QC adjourned the case to a future date when she will give her ruling on the case.